A good friend of ours stopped by the other day all excited about a coach she found at a large dealership, and I pulled it up for bluebook value for her. This class C [rhymes with asta] with all the goodies came through at about 40 G. She said she could get it for about 38 so she thought she was doing well. I dug up a recent sale for a diesel pusher that went for mid 20's, just to show her how out of line the pricing was on the coach she was looking at. She freaked, of course, and is now looking at a much nicer SOB [rhymes with Eat Wood], and I may let her buy this [against my better judgement] just to put her into a coach.
It's hell being the one that everyone knows you check out every little detail when it comes to motorhomes. Thanks guys, I wouldn't have it any other way.

You should sell her tomfeit's Regency

Don't think I didn't try! She doesn't appreciate the logistics in getting one home from a far off local. For airfare and gas, I'd bring it home, but some folks gotta see it.

Well, I can't say anything. I just bought an SOB class C myself, but only because it was $900 (CDN!) and the new tires themselves were worth that much.

It is only supposed to last the summer (as we have a youngun' on the way and camping with a newborn in a tent is not my idea of a good time), but it's going to take a fair bit of work just to make it habitable for one season! It's at my fathers shop at the moment, and during the last rainstorm he ran around inside with a bunch of buckets. I think he said he was planning on leaving the door open so that it wouldn't fill completely full

Anyway, I'll post a complete set of adventures to pose as a warning for anyone considering purchasing something other than a Barth. I know that will be my next upgrade. In the meantime the goal is to replace the roof and make it somewhat watertight; once that's done, I'll probably be able to sell it for a couple thousand more than I paid for it, minus an engine rebuild kit and the roof-repair kit. It does appear that I might be able to break even, as $5000 is a low-ball figure for anything for sale around here and if I put it up for $3K at the end of the summer I'll probably get some bites. That aside, we all know that RV's aren't investments

quote:

In the meantime the goal is to replace the roof and make it somewhat watertight;

Liquid Roof even fixed the Fleetwood roof-to-front-cap leak on mine. I think a couple of other forum members have used it happily, too.

For a specific area, I have been happy with Eternabond.

I used Liquid Rubber/Liquid Roof as an overlayment for a shower pan that needed replacement. It lasted for 3 years with no leaks so far and lots of hot water and foot traffic.

Thanks for the helpful advice, guys. I'll definitely look into grabbing a bucket of that stuff to seal up the roof. In a couple of weeks I'll have time to tinker on it, and then I'll let you know the results.

First, I'll add a strong second to the Eternabond Tape recommendation - expensive, but the best thing made for sealing cracks, rooflines, around vents, etc........a long-lasting and instant cure for a lot of sealing woes.

For Danny Z's friend - maybe a look into and/or membership in the RV Consumers' Group would be a real eye-opener. AFAIK, no Fleetwood or Shasta product is recommended for design, safety,
handling, and ownership experience.

Most current manufacturers seem to have a "we'll build an imperfect - if attractive - POS and let the dealers make them usable after many trips back to correct the obvious faults we were too cheap/lazy/hurried/indifferent/greedy to fix before it got into the buyer's hands" attitude.

I think that a kind of Gresham's Law effect has swept through the RV industry - unsound design, cheap materials and shoddy workmanship allow profits and prices that have come close to exterminating the good manufacturers. There are a remaining few, but the sad truth is that they're more the exception than the rule.

There are millions of people who have been burned - they're all over RV internet sites and use groups complaining about how awful their half million dollar white elephants are.

If you're buying at a distance, it's easy enough to get a decent inspection done (ebay will arrange this for anyone, nearly anywhere - you don't have to be buying through ebay). Shipping can also be arranged there, or FedX has a well-regarded program for professional delivery at moderate cost.

I'm about to be ready to buy a used Class A or C, and my shopping list is pretty much down to Barth or Lazy Daze. If I wanted something bigger and/or newer I'd find a nice, gently used Newell - take a look at what %125K will buy on newellclassic.com.

Just one man's view and experience, but it comes from many years and miles, and several years of recent research, YMMV.

quote:

Originally posted by rickklewis:
I'm about to be ready to buy a used Class A or C, and my shopping list is pretty much down to Barth or Lazy Daze. If I wanted something bigger and/or newer I'd find a nice, gently used Newell - take a look at what %125K will buy on newellclassic.com.

Just one man's view and experience, but it comes from many years and miles, and several years of recent research, YMMV.

Rick, I'm with you a hunnert percent on that. I would jump ship in a heartbeat if I could find a 30 foot Newell. I think I like Barth people better, though.

When I had a Class C, I had Lazy Daze envy. What I had was OK, but the only C I realy coveted was a LD. Several families buy me beer whenever we are together because I kept beating them with the LD stick when they were looking.

A couple we meet up with at Homestead Speedway has the first Lazy Daze I had seen. They flew to California to help design it and had it built specifically for them. It really is a fine class C coach. I understand this is, or was, the way Newells are marketed.
To drift just a bit, I've been seeing more and more of the coaches with truck front ends, and wonder what the story is. Has anyone ridden in or driven one yet? I imagine they are quieter than a cabover puller but they can't be as quiet as a pusher. Maybe they handle better, or are cheaper? Here's what I mean;
http://www.becksmarine.com/MotorhomesWithGarages/1610MG_12-700.htm